SATURDAY NEWS WRAP #169

• Yes, Olly Murs’ new single ‘Wrapped Up’ is out and about at Aussie media now, but in servicing the track, Sony Music dropped a hint that we’ll be seeing the affable British star on our shores later this month for a promotional visit. More details on that as they come to hand.• Iconic outfit The Doobie Brothers will release a new album early next month. It’s called ‘Southbound’ and it sees the band teaming up with a number of names from today’s music scene, including Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and the Zac Brown Band in an effort to breathe new life into their classic hits like ‘What A Fool Believes’, ‘Long Train Runnin’ and the ever faithful ‘Listen To The Music’. It’s out November 07.• Last weekend it was the AFL Grand Final. This weekend it’s the turn of the NRL to roll out the big guns of the entertainment world for the Grand Final on Sunday night. Headlining proceedings this year are US outfit Train, who are set to perform a medley of their hits including ‘Drops Of Jupiter’ and ‘Hey Soul Sister’, along with Slash, who’ll make a solo appearance to perform his new single ‘Bent To Fly’. “I’m really excited to be in Australia and open the NRL Grand Final entertainment with our track ‘Bent to Fly’. Australia is one of my favourite places in the world and I can’t wait to play at such a huge event… it’s going to be awesome,” he said in a statement.

• It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, with Earth, Wind & Fire confirming they’ll release their collection of favourites entitled ‘Holiday’ next month. The band’s first ever festive set comprises 13 tracks including staples like ‘Sleigh Ride’, ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ and ‘Joy To The World’ amongst re-interpreted EW&F classics (‘December’ instead of ‘September’ etc) and more. It’s out November 07.• Yellowcard has announced a national tour. The US based pop/punk outfit will tour Australia in July next year, with dates confirmed in all five of the main capital cities. Tickets for all are on sale this Friday.• US performer Perfume Genius will also visit the country for live dates. With his latest album ‘Too Bright’ recently released, he’s announced shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in the middle of February. Tickets for the trio of gigs are on sale now.• Organisers of the Port Fairy Folk Festival in Victoria have unveiled their first line-up for the 2015 event. To be held from March 06 to 09, it’ll bring together a host of talent from across the country including Christine Anu, The Black Sorrows, John Butler Trio, Catherine Britt and many more. The second ticket release is now open.

• Yep, Meghan Trainor’s still ‘All About That Bass’ atop the Billboard 100 singles chart in the US this week, making it four weeks on the trot for the former No.1 Aussie hit. Taylor Swift maintains her No.2 heading with ‘Shake It Off’, while Nicki Minaj’s ‘Anaconda’ slithers up to No.3. Tove Lo’s ‘Habits (Stay High)’ is a big mover this week, jumping six spots to No.7. Clean Bandit’s ‘Rather Be’ enters the top ten.• The Billboard 200 albums chart this week belongs to a crooner and a pop star. Yep, it’s Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, whose collaborative effort ‘Cheek To Cheek’ premieres in the No.1 position, knocking Barbra Streisand from top spot after one week. Country star Kenny Chesney’s new album ‘The Big Revival’ debuts in the No.2 spot, with Alt-J’s ‘This Is All Yours’ new at No.4 and Pentatonix’s ‘PTX Vol.III’ coming in at No.5. Joe Bonamassa’s ‘Different Shades Of Blue’ is new at No.8, while Jennifer Hudson scores a No.10 debut with her new long player ‘J-Hud’.• Premiering on tonight’s ARIA charts will be the Bluejuice best-of ‘Retrospectable’, along with Kenny Chesney and J-Hud. Who’ll debut where, however? Best you check back for our Chart Watch, live tonight at 7pm.• And just a quick reminder for those in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT that clocks go forward tonight at 2am for daylight savings. That’s one hour less snoozing the night away. But one hour closer to our auspOp Diary tomorrow morning. Spring. Forward!